NGC 253 is the largest galaxy in the Sculptor group of galaxies. Visually, the galaxy is quite large - about 28' x 6'. This is the width of the full moon (although much fainter and thinner!). At magnitude 8, it is a fairly easy object to see in a telescope, although it is always quite low for us in the Northern Hemisphere.

In this image, North is Up. This image is cropped to 94% of the original full frame.

Exposure Details

Lens

Celestron C-8 SCT with Celestron focal reducer

Focal Length

1260mm

Focal Ratio

f/6.3

Mount

Schaefer GEM - 7 1/2

Guiding

80mm f/11 guidescope with PHD Guiding

Camera

Canon 20Da

Exposure

54 subexposures of 150 seconds each plus 28 exposures of 300 seconds each at ISO 1600 - about 4 1/2 hours total exposure

This was a difficult object to photograph because it never rises above 30 degrees at my latitude. I think the final result came out rather well. I have some Hydrogen Alpha data to add to this when time permits.

An earlier processing version of this image (not as good) was chosen Digital Astro Challenge Photo 1st place for September 2011 in the Galaxy Category. This earlier version is HERE.